I Suck at Girls, a book review

S and I enjoyed this book very much. We read parts of it to each other. The author is one of the world’s great procrastinators and the basic plot is a review of his life as he decides if he should propose marriage after 4 years in a relationship.

The author, Justin Halpern, describes various stages in his development into adulthood. Along the way he receives advice from his big brother, his friends and especially his father, who is an extremely well educated man, a doctor of medicine and a university professor.

The book is written in a present tense style and it is easy to believe that you are there with him. The images he creates in the mind are vivid and realistic..

The language…..it is hard to believe that Justin’s father would speak the way he does. He is as subtle as a bulldozer, sarcastic and foul mouthed. He is a kind man and means well. Poor Justin spends his life trying to come to terms with his sexuality without much success until finally he meets Amanda, the love of his life.

Justin worries about everything, he is uptight, naive and innocent about the ways of the world and how he fits in. There are many humorous moments and few flat spots. There are heart-rending moments where I wanted to reach in and give him some advice myself.

While the book is written about the son, we found ourselves becoming just as intrigued by the father. Perhaps this is because we are also parents and grandparents. There is a lot written between the lines in this little book. We both had great fun reading it and laughed out loud many times. It achieves it’s goal, to entertain the reader.